By The Editor: Siddharth Sehgal

Past few weeks have seen tremendous changes in India – Pakistan relations. The meeting between PM’s of both nations started chain of events that idolized the situation of two neighbours who despise each other with a smile on face. Joint statements by foreign secretaries only read what we agreed to agree upon and that’s why Kashmir was dropped from the official release. Now the irony is fact that more than sixty years of finger pointing, mud slinging, fighting and rhetoric the question of Kashmir is nowhere near resolve and it’s hopeless to hope that it will ever be settled. All three parties India, Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists are in sort of geopolitical Mexican standoff. Neither will shoot nor back off.

 We Indian’s will never get tired of Kashmir because our enemies won’t. The ceasefire violation, the drum beating on drones which probably was Pakistan’s own is nothing but attempt to keep this standoff going. People of Kashmir should ask Hurriyat if its quixotic quest of getting independence has lead them anywhere, Kashmir was part of India right from the beginning and it’s not going to change anytime in the foreseeable future but few bad apples are bent on spoiling the heaven on Earth. Though Geelani declined the Eid Milan invite to Pakistani High Commission but that doesn’t solve anything. Talks, conference or even peace cannot be built on ceasefire violations and dead bodies.

 Even we have to realize that this cycle would continue endlessly until we put an end to it. Pakistan bait us regularly with into peacetalks, summits and bilateral meeting which ultimately leads to shelling at the line of border or ISI sponsored terrorist incursions in Indian territory. If our leaders don’t consider Kashmir a disputed territory which even UN say’s its not then why we even bother about these meetings. It’s an internal affair of India and no outsider entity, group or state should be involved in it.  Time and again from Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Narendra Modi, all the gestures of friendship by our leaders have been returned with treachery, may be it’s in our neighbour’s nature but why should we make it ours to commit same mistakes again. Let them refuse the sweets.

 Peace with Pakistan didn’t prevail in my grandfather’s, father’s or my generation then why are we expecting miracles in future. Yes, we should strive for peace but Modi government should not take Sharif’s word at face value. Kashmir issue is an old would which turned septic for India, its up to Narendra Modi to decide, to bandage or cauterize it.